Published by

Katherine

What A Difference A Font Makes!

Since starting at Banana Moon 2 and a half years ago, I have become something of a font geek. I have to say, its bordering on obsessive, and I may have to start my own “font addicts anonymous” group. I have always been interested in advertising and branding, and paid particular attention to this part of my course at University. I am fascinated by the fact that fonts and colours can invoke a particular perception of something, and how choosing the wrong font or colour can massively impact a brand.

An example of this is Coca Cola. Just looking at that signature C, the script font or the red colour scheme, you can instantly recognise the Coca Cola brand. But the genius design and branding team at Coca Cola have taken this a step further. As a woman looking for a healthier coke option, what would you choose? Chances are, you have said Diet Coke. Now think about a man looking for the healthier option. More often than not, they will choose Coke Zero. Although not exactly the same, the similarities between the 2 products are uncanny, the differences between them, such as the caffeine and calories are so subtle, that as a consumer, we can barely tell a difference. So why have Coca Cola produced 2 products that are essentially the same thing? The answer… their target audience. Diet Coke uses the script font, the silver can and the use of the word diet, ‘cos let’s face it, how many women can claim they have never been on a diet, and let’s not forget, Mr Diet Coke Man, with his shirtless body and tight jeans. Now think of Coke Zero. The masculine red and black colour scheme, the simple sans serif font, and even the name “zero”. It’s straight to the point. Even just doing a Google image search, you can see they target a predominantly male audience, with links to James Bond, fast cars, football, and even Cheryl Cole dressed in a rather suggestive way.

Getting back to the point, I want our customers to realise the importance of a good font, as it can quite literally make or break your brand. Don’t choose an italicised script font if you’re organising a stag do, or a capitalised sleek font for a hen party. Don’t choose Commercial Script if you’re a nursery and certainly don’t choose Comic Sans if you’re a funeral director.

At Banana Moon, we offer a dozen standard fonts for printing, but if you have a specific font, please don’t be afraid to ask. It may not always be a possibility, but if we can help, we most certainly will. It’s important to us that your printing is right, so let start by getting the fonts right, please, for my own sanity.